The Crimson Quest: A LitRPG Adventure Read online

  I grabbed his arm and we helped bring Grant back to the dungeon. It was a struggle, but after about 15 minutes we came back. "This man needs medical attention," Leo yelled.

  The guard approached us. “Don't let this happen again,” he said. "We don't waste potions at low levels."

  Two more guards ran alongside Grant. They didn't say a word. They just got down to business and dragged him to another room. "Where are they taking him?" I asked.

  "They'll give him a healing potion," the guard replied. “Only because he hasn't had the chance to fight at the Colosseum yet. They always like to try new players. You never know who will become the next crowd favorite. "

  The crowd favorite ? It sounded pretty exciting. I looked at the sun above me. It was a beautiful day. In a strange way, it didn't seem so bad here. Maybe it was because I had always been so obsessed with the Colosseum fighting. I have always made a point of playing any game that fought against the Colosseum or in the arena. It was hard to believe that I was actually having this experience. Of course, it wasn't the same as playing a normal video game. It was better than a video game. I had the chance to become a true champion of the Colosseum. I walked over to Leo. “I wonder if we will have to fight against each other. Do you think this is possible?

  I think everyone is fighting, ”he replied. "I hate to even talk about it, but I need my shortsword back." It's the only other weapon I own.

  I nodded. “Almost for rgot. Here is. "

  I dropped the sword to the ground. Then, without warning, the guard grabbed my arm. “It's time to go home,” he said, forcing me to walk alongside him. "See you later Leo," I yelled.

  A guard grabbed Leo and also brought him back to his cell . Once in my cell, I noticed that Douglas was asleep. When the cell door closed, he emerged. "Glad to see you again. Did you go on a quest?"

  "Yes," I replied. “It was just this simple little quest. We must have killed a goblin. It was pretty boring to be honest.

  Douglas rubbed his eyes. "They said you are fighting tonight."

  "What? Who said that?"

  “I heard the guards talking. They pointed to my cell and said two new arrivals were fighting tonight.

  "Really? But are you sure they were talking about me?

  His head bounced up and down. "Of course. I'm always sure when I say something.

  “I don't even have a gun. I will die without a weapon.

  Douglas laughs. “They match up pretty well. Do not worry. It will be a glorious melee battle.

  Hand-to-hand combat? I didn't have a ton of hand-to-hand combat experience. It didn't matter though. I was excited. Excited to see what was about to happen. I wondered what it would be like to fight in front of a crowd. Would that be scary, or would the excitement drown him? Suddenly I remembered that I needed to send Todd a message. Damn, why haven't I texted her yet? I quickly opened my messages and started to explain what had happened to me:

  “Hi Todd. I'm sorry to say I can't find your soul. I wasn't betrayed by a gamer and am now stuck in this place called FlatFall. I don't know any other way out than to die. But it is a last resort. So I guess I can't save you? My friend Johnny says he's going to save you. If you want, you can send him a friend request. His name is Johnny the first. Just tell it your location and it will do its best to find you. I hope you understood. Thank you

  Walker."

  I felt bad that I couldn't save Todd. But I had done my best. I hope Johnny saves him, but I find that questionable. I sat on the floor and looked at Douglas. He put a hand under his chin. "Tell me about you."

  I didn't want to talk to him about me. I just wanted to sit alone in peace. "There is nothing to say. I'm just a guy.

  Douglas pointed the finger at me. “Don't be so modest. There was a reason you were chosen to be put in my cell. Heaven must have something special planned for you.

  I heard footsteps coming from outside our cell. There was more of it than I had ever heard before. "What's all this noise?" I asked.

  "Newcomers probably," Douglas replied with a smile. “I like to look really angry when they pass. Look, watch me do it, ”he cried excitedly before jumping up and running towards the bars.

  He wrapped both hands around the bars, then looked at me. On his face was the look of death. He turned around as a few new prisoners walked past us. "Let me out of here," Douglas yelled at the top of his lungs. “Kill me already. Someone, please kill me already!

  Her body started to shake as her hands held onto the bars. “My life is over,” he cried. Then he started making these noises. Random screams and words came from the troll as he began to act insane. What was wrong with this troll? He fell to the ground and started hitting on it. "Why me," he cried over and over.

  Some of the passing prisoners looked frightened. We even pointed at Douglas by taking a few steps away from him. "Oh my God. We're all going to go crazy like this trol l," the prisoner shouted.

  I approached the bars. There were at least twenty new arrivals. Then I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was Cosmo! At the very end of the line, he was walking slowly. The dragon tattoo on her face was something I will never forget. I shook my head back and forth. I had so much to tell him. But why was he here? Was he also a prisoner? It didn't make sense.

  Slowly the line shifted as he got closer and closer to my cell. Within moments he was right next to me. My hands rushed through the bars and grabbed his shirt. "You two face a bastard," I growled, pulling him closer to me. There was a pop as his face hit the bars. He was surprised. One eye looked at me. "Walker?" He asked.

  "That's right. You shit. It's me," I shouted. "Why did you betray me? What have I ever done to you?

  He grabbed my hands and broke my grip. “You did this to yourself. You shouldn't have been such a stupid ass. You do not just blindly follow people and trust them .

  His voice alone made my stomach ache. Deep down I knew he was right. But that still didn't mean it was normal for him to take advantage of me. I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't. He was on the other side of the bars. So I did all I could do. I spit on him.

  He wiped it from his face. Then a slowly growing smile came to her. He's laughing. "You'll pay for it later."

  No I will not. In fact, I was going to take my revenge. I was going to make sure he paid for what he had done to me. Even though I wanted him dead, I was still curious about how he got to FlatFall. "How did you get there? Did you screw up your own kind? You know, the other criminals running this joint? Did you screw them up too? Is that what you're here for?

  He cocked his head. “Sometimes you get a little too arrogant. I thought I could pocket a little more. But they didn't like it too much. Oh good, ”he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  The line started to move faster. He was almost out of my site. But not quite. "You're not going to get away with this," I said, my face against the bars. "It is a promise."

  Cosmo laughs. Then he threw his hand in the air. "You're lucky all those guards are here." I would have you right now even if I could. You're not gonna do shit to me. It is a promise!

  After that he disappeared from my sight. I sat down on the floor. Douglas lay down on his stomach but said nothing. My heat started to beat faster. I wanted revenge on Cosmo, but I also just wanted to forget about him. Seeing him sent emotions through my body that I didn't like. Pure feelings of hatred. Honestly, I didn't like to feel that way. Douglas rolled onto his back. " What was it all about?"

  “This guy is the reason I'm here,” I replied.

  "Kill him then."

  "How? It's a higher level than me.

  “Fight in the Colosseum and level up. This is the fastest way to level up and get new weapons. "

  Yes, that was it! The tr oll had given me an idea. “I'm going to fight Cosmo at the Colosseum. How can I organize this? "

  Douglas jumped to his feet. He was excited. "Yes. That's what I want to hear! That's what you have to do."

  "How? How do we do that?"

  “You
just fight. Fight until people cheer you on. Once that happens, you will gain some power. You can ask the Emperor to organize the fight for you. Or, he can ask the Emperor to arrange it. It just depends.

  "Really? Would the emperor do that?

  D Mr. Douglas balled his hands into two fists. Her body started to shake. Why was he so excited? "You win! You just won," he shouted, jumping up and down.

  "Alright," I said, pulling away from him. "I'm going to win."

  "Can you see? Can you see it in my eyes?

  "See what?"

  "My passion. My passion for combat."

  My head was rising and falling slowly. "Currently I can."

  "Good. That's what you need. Once you have that, you'll start to win. Understand?"

  “I think so,” I replied.

  Douglas began to breathe heavily. Then he started to cough. The cough started to sound severe as he leaned forward. "Are you OK?"

  "I'm fine," he replied. “I just need a little air. My excitement is so strong. It's almost fatal sometimes.

  I leaned away from him. He was weird. But in a strange way, he was motivating. This little troll was passionate. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Slowly the troll calmed down. We both sat down while I tried to rest. Hours passed until I heard footsteps coming in. Then a guard arrived at our cell. “At your feet,” he said with his finger pointed at me.

  I got up. "Am I fighting tonight?"

  "You are fighting now," replied the guard.

  "Now? But I don't have any weapons or healing potions.

  “It's hand-to-hand combat. You are not entitled to any weapons, armor, or healing potions during this fight. These are the rules for your first fight. "

  Thin. It was kinda crazy. Douglas jumped and moved closer to the guard. “I want to see his first figure, ” said Douglas. "Are there any openings for tonight?"

  The guard took out a piece of paper and began to examine it. Then he put it away. “We had a few openings. I'll send a guard for you.

  Some openings? Did they let the other prisoners watch the fight too? In a way, it was pretty cool. "I'll be watching you," Douglas said with a stern look on his face. “I'm going to inflate the audience. I'll give you the home court advantage. Wait and see.

  The guard led me out of my cell. Shit. I was more ner to you than I ever thought I would. My footsteps echoed as we walked towards where we were going. It was official, I was about to fight at the Colosseum.

  Chapter twenty-two

  After a long walk, we came to a small room. There was a round wooden table. On the table there were two cups of water and two plates of rice. "Enjoy your meal," said the guard, leading me to the table.

  I sat down. Could this food and water be entrusted ? I did not know. The guard left and closed the door. The room was very small and basic. I looked at the wall and noticed a large painting of a man. It was the emperor. Wow. I knew it. This guy was selfish. I looked closely at his painting. His smile was too much. It was obvious he was doing his best to look as pleasant as possible. But he didn't fool me, I could see the evil in his eyes. I looked at my food. I was hungry.

  The door opened. It was another guard. Behind him was a thin man. He was wearing the same basic outfit as me. “Meet your opponent,” said the guard.

  The man sat down at the table across from me. His eyes were sly and cold. His head moved to the plate in front of him. He sniffed the rice. "Have you ever eaten it ?" he asked without looking at me.

  My head was going from side to side. "Not yet."

  The guard laughed. Then he put his hand in the rice and grabbed some. He threw it into his mouth and swallowed it. “It's just rice,” he says.

  We both dug our rice like wild animals. There was a thud when the guard left the room. After we finished eating the rice and drinking our water, we just sat down and looked at each other. what was that? Were we just supposed to have little conversations and act like everything is normal? This whole setup was a little messed up. I put my elbow on the table and leaned closer to him. "I guess we're fighting each other," I muttered.

  He took his lip. "Yeah. That's what they tell me.

  I looked at his arms. He was thin. It did n't really look like a challenge. I looked at its display name and level:

  Anderson Lives80 - Level 02

  Human - Warrior

  Okay. I could handle a level 2. I felt lucky to be fighting at such a low level for my first fight. We both had no guns. I was really starting to feel grateful that I had piled up my strength. We continued to sit in almost total silence. It was embarrassing . So, I decided to ask another question. "Did you take part in many fights?"

  His head was going from side to side. "Not really. I haven't even had the chance to play a lot yet.

  Suddenly the door opened. “It's about time,” the guard said.

  There was a strained energy in the air. It was almost like we were going to the electric chair or something. Our steps were slow as I stood on one side of the guard, and he stood on the other. We headed for a narrow, straight hallway. I could hear it. I co ULD hear the cheers of the crowd. My heart was beating faster and faster as we got closer and closer. The light was all I could see down the hall. There was a heat when the sun hit my head and the crowd was almost deafening. Wow! My body went round and round. The colosseum was massive. It was exactly as I had seen it in the movies. Like a huge football stadium. But it was not. It was a real colosseum. Humans, trolls, elves and orcs cheered in the audience around us.

  The guard reached out to stop me from walking. Then he looked at my opponent. “Position yourself there,” he said, pointing to the opposite side of the colosseum.

  My opponent started running through the open arena. I picked up dirt on the dusty ground and I rubbed my hands. I didn't know the purpose of this, but it made me feel hard. I continued to rub my hands. The crowd started to cheer louder. I looked around at the thousands of people watching. Were they real players? If so, I was already famous. I scanned the crowd. I wanted to see if I saw Douglas. But I did not do it. I was sure he was there though. But, there were just too many faces. I looked at my opponent in front of me. Oh, he was going to be hurt. But should I kill him? Was it the rules ? I kind of forgot to ask that. Then, a feeling of unease came in my stomach. Shit. Was it a fight to the death?

  I turned to the crowd and threw my hands in the air. They went crazy and someone even threw a white flower on the ground. Wow. In fact, I felt myself a bit special. Then there was a loud metallic clicking noise. It almost looked like someone was ringing a big ass bell. After that, the Colosseum began to rumble as the crowd stomped on them. “Fight, fight, fight,” they cried over and over .

  That was it. It was my first appearance at the Colosseum. My ascent from zero to hero. I looked ahead and noticed that my opponent was running at full speed towards me. Lucky for me, the arena was big. He wasn't even halfway to me yet. I had a little time, but the situation was becoming urgent. I had to decide how I was going to defeat this man. He was getting closer and closer as I started to panic. What was I going to do? Should I kick him in the knee, then kick him in the head? Or maybe I should pretend I'm hurt? Attract him with a bloody story? No, I couldn't do that. Only a coward would do something like this. Before I could begin my next thought, he was right in front of me. Thin. I was running out of time. “Come to me,” he cried.

  My hands went in front of my chest . Ok, that was it. I jumped from side to side as he did the same. Then I swung my right hand but was stopped halfway. He kicked me in the left knee and made a top cut that sent me across the back. With a leap, he was on top of me. I grabbed her hand when it crashed into my face. Then my other hand went around his neck. Her face started to lose color as my grip tightened more and more. I didn't want to kill him, but I had to get him out of me. He gasped and tried to release my grip. Our eyes met as I could see the life vanishing in them. Shit. Was he about to die?

  My grip loosened and he had a coughing fit. Without warning, sand entere
d my eyes. That bastard! How could he throw sand in my eyes? The burn was intense as I tried to push out the sand. But, he hit me in the face. Then he hit me again. With a sudden burst of energy, I threw the man over me and got to my feet. What was my health? I looked at my bar and saw it was more than halfway there. 4/16? Damn, he hurt me badly.

  When my vision returned, all I saw was that he was running full blast at me with his head down. I knelt him straight in the jaw and soon after he fell to his knees. He stood up, but I quickly threw him to the ground. I walked over to him and grabbed the back of his head. I pulled his head back so I could see his face. He was covered in blood. "I surrender," he mumbled, spitting blood on the floor.